A new report published by the UK’s Transport Systems Catapult (TSC) suggests we are at the beginning of a Mobility as a Service (MaaS) revolution that will change the way many people travel and may see a move away from traditional car ownership.

The report highlights what the future of MaaS could look like and how policy makers and the transport sector can innovate to meet the changing expectations of consumers. The TSC is calling on policy makers and the private sector to work toward a shared vision for how to make MaaS a success. Several trends identified in the report support future growth of MaaS concepts, with consumers increasingly expecting their transport to be delivered as a ‘service’. Adoption of MaaS would also incentivize technological advances around improving journey experiences.

The Exploring the Opportunity for Mobility as a Service in the UK report was commissioned by the Department for Transport (DfT) and seeks to help define what MaaS is, how it can help us travel, and what the future could look like once it becomes mainstream. The report suggests that the rewards of moving from existing business models that focus on single modes of transport, to the provision of flexible end-to-end travel services, could be significant. MaaS can address many of the pain points in journeys, and enable policy makers to make more efficient use of transport assets.

“MaaS is about using a digital interface to source and manage transport related services to meet customer needs,” explained James Datson, lead author of the report. “Key influencers are now talking seriously about MaaS from an innovation perspective, as it embodies what many of us working in the transport industry see as the future. There are many opportunities ahead; it’s an exciting time for investors and for the travelling public. The private sector sees MaaS as an opportunity to offer customers better journeys, and the public sector can embrace MaaS to help address the UK’s transport challenges.”

Lucy Yu, head of Mobility-as-a-Service at the DfT and the Center for Connected & Autonomous Vehicles (C-CAV), said, “The idea of buying and selling mobility as a service represents a profound change in the way we think about transportation. Although the market will not transform overnight, clear signs of a shift are already present, as well as the possibility for joint value creation across the public and commercial sectors. MaaS offers a compelling opportunity to help local and regional areas meet their policy objectives in relation to the economy, congestion and pollution, as well as a potential means for re-framing how government subsidizes and provides public transport services in the future.”

About Author

Tom has edited Traffic Technology International magazine and the Traffic Technology Today website since he joined the company in May 2014. Prior to this he worked on some of the UK's leading consumer magazine titles including Men's Health and Glamour, beginning his career in journalism in 1997 after graduating with a law degree from the London School of Economics (LSE).